


the light that will guide me home

by reddies_spaghetti



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Heaven, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 06:44:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13265904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddies_spaghetti/pseuds/reddies_spaghetti
Summary: Over the years Richie had become more and more successful, his radio show going through the roof as became known worldwide for his impressions and jokes, as well as his good taste in music. He soon moved from Radio, to live stage performances, stand up comedy. He'd performed sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and the Staples Centre, he was world wide famous.So why wasn't he happy?





	the light that will guide me home

Holding a bottle of scotch in one hand, and a lit cigarette in the other, Richie Tozier sat in the dark. His eyes had black rings under them, his foot tapping against the floor as he twitched. The large house in which he called home was cold, and empty, so much so that Richie couldn’t even find it in him to call it a home anymore.

Over the years Richie had become more and more successful, his radio show going through the roof as became known worldwide for his impressions and jokes, as well as his good taste in music. He soon moved from Radio, to live stage performances, stand up comedy. He’d performed sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and the Staples Centre, he was world wide famous.

So why wasn’t he happy?

Somewhere, somewhere deep down in the pit of his stomach, Richie knew the reason. A someone. Someone he knew a long time ago, with bright eyes and a smile that could bring Richie to his knees. A someone who was long gone. So long gone that Richie couldn’t even remember their name.

He could still feel it though, the feeling of pure love he’d felt for that person, and the feeling of pure heartbreak when they were ripped away.

He never married. Sure, there was the occasional one night stand, but Richie could never quite find it in him to settle down. There was always the thought niggling at the back of his head, the thought that he’d _had_ that. He’d had the love of his life and he’d lost them. He couldn’t remember how, or why, or when, but he knew.

That thought lived with him his whole life, always there in the back of his mind. He became more depressed, stopped booking shows and soon he just faded into the background. Younger, more talented people took his place and the world moved on whilst Richie remained, all alone with his thoughts. His friends had tried to push him to be more sociable, invited him to movie premieres, to social gatherings but with each one he turned down, the less they asked.

Now here he was, at 51 years old, sitting alone in his cold empty house, wishing for the feeling in back of his brain to turn into a memory.

He closed his eyes, and drifted off.

* * *

 

When he opened his eyes, Richie noticed two things that were different.

The first was that he was no longer in his house, instead he was on the grass, leaning up against a tree. It was warm, the sun shining down on his body and the fresh smell of nature filled his nostrils. He sat up and looked around, blinking as he took in the scenery. He knew this place. The more he looked around, the more memories flooded his brain. This was the Quarry, this was the Quarry where he’d spent most of his summers as a young boy. He was in Derry.

The second thing Richie noticed was that he was significantly younger. His skin was smooth, no age lines or wrinkles to be seen, and as he moved his body forward to look at his reflection in the water he saw that he was back in his seventeen year old body. He was a kid again. All the way down to the thick framed glasses perched on his nose.

How was this possible? He was asleep in his chair in California? How could he be in Derry and how…how was he so _young_?

A twig snapped from behind him and Richie flipped his whole body round, and almost crashed into the water when he saw who it was. Suddenly, the niggling at the back of his mind, the someone that Richie knew he had always been missing, became a memory. The boy, the boy with the bright eyes and the wide smile was standing merely a few feet away from him.

“ _Eddie,”_ he breathed out and the boy broke into that beautiful wide smile that Richie loved so much, taking a few more steps towards him. He too was younger, in his seventeen year old body, looking just as beautiful as Richie now remembered.

“You took your time,” Eddie whispered, his voice light and just how Richie remembered it,  “I’ve missed you Richie.”

Richie could have burst into tears right then and there, but he didn’t. Instead he scrambled to his feet and rushed to close the remaining distance between them both, pulling Eddie into the tightest hug Richie thinks he’s ever given him, “Eds, oh Eds,” he breathed into his hair, inhaling the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo. “I’m so sorry baby, I- I forgot all about you-”

Eddie cut him off, “It’s okay,” he whispered, pulling back just a little so he could watch Richie’s facial expressions, “I know. Everyone forgot. It was part of the curse that…that IT had on Derry, it’s not your fault.”

“I always knew- I always knew there was something missing, something that I’d forgotten,” Richie pressed his forehead against Eddies. “What- what am I doing here?”

Eddie’s face turned sour, “You- you took a heart attack in your sleep due to the cold and the amount of alcohol in your system. You’re so stupid you know that?” Eddie shoved him slightly.

“I’m dead? So…this- this is heaven?” Richie asked, looking around. “Are we the only ones here?”

“This is our heaven,” Eddie explained. “All heaven’s are different, depending on the person, and this is ours. The quarry was a place we all found safe, where we all became friends. It’s our heaven.” At second part of the question, Eddie shook his head, “No, Georgie is here, and Stan, and Mike. The others will come when they are ready.”

Richie looked around, “I don’t see them,” he whispered.

“They’re giving us some space. Stan said he really didn’t want to be a witness to us sharing spit,” Eddie spoke with a grin, his fingers moving up to brush some of Richie’s curls out of his face.  “Do you want to go see them?”

Richie thought about it, before he shook his head, “No, this is heaven, which means we have all the time in the world. Right now, right now I want to…share spit with you,” his eyes sparkled and Eddie laughed, bringing their faces closer together.

Richie didn’t wait for a reply, he simply closed the remaining distance, leaning down and pressing his lips to Eddies. As he felt Eddie wrap his arms around his neck, pulling himself closer, pushed up on his tip toes, Richie only had one thought.

_Home._

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on Tumblr 
> 
> @reddies-spaghetti


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